Chaos erupted at a House Oversight Committee hearing after Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) called for former DOGE administrator Elon Musk to be subpoenaed over his alleged drug use.
"Four months ago, Democrats moved to subpoena Elon Musk to provide public testimony to this committee," Lynch said at the Thursday hearing on artificial intelligence. "From his erratic purge of the federal workforce to his exploitation of sensitive taxpayer data, to the cybersecurity nightmare he's created and the horrifying surveillance state we fear, Musk has built the American people into a position where they demand answers from Elon Musk."
"Recent allegations have left Americans wondering if he was potentially under the influence of drugs, while at the very heart of the Trump administration's most consequential and sensitive decisions," he continued. "It is worth investigating whether one of President Trump's most influential advisors was under the influence of heavy drugs while upending hundreds of thousands of American lives, breaking government services beyond repair, and handing out death sentences for hundreds of thousands of innocent people around the world who relied on American foreign aid and medical care for survival, most of whom were children."
Lynch made a motion to subpoena Musk, but Republicans moved to table the motion. However, there were not enough Republican members to win a recorded vote, and Chair Nancy Mace (R-SC) immediately suspended the hearing by claiming the committee's clerk was not prepared.
"Do we not have an assistant clerk who can make sure that we can continue to do the business in an efficient way in oversight?" Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) asked. "Because it is historically never taken this long for the clerk."
"Is it possible for us to just do a roll call without the clerk to determine what members are here so that we can determine if you all really have the votes?" Crockett demanded to know.
"No, ma'am. Thank you," Mace stated.
"Is the only reason we can't take a vote is because y'all are about to lose it?" Crockett pressed.
"Is there a point of inquiry here?" Mace said. "Because I didn't hear one."
"That was my inquiry," Crockett remarked.
"That's not a valid inquiry. Thank you," Mace insisted.
After more Republicans arrived, Mace went ahead with the recorded vote, which tabled the motion to subpoena Musk along party lines.
